Short and sweet: If gold continues it's rise, as we've seen in the past year, it should be a reasonable addition to anyone's investments... However, due to government taxation of anything even closely resembling profit, I'm told, the thought occurs to purchase gold, hold on to it, and sell it in an all-cash transaction in the years to come. This would lead some to believe that investing their cash into tangible gold bullion could lead to massive potential gains, possibly even without the penalty of taxes. Thoughts?
I'd rather have titanium. Gold is tacky and overpriced. Oh, you mean my thoughs on gold investment? I dunno, gold is just ugly. The best thing to do would be to sell it.
TBH, from what i've been reading and the fact that the government wants all the gold too, I would recommend you put it into silver, because nobody wants it as much, but it will still increase in value.
I wouldn't invest in gold. There's more gold sold on paper than is actually in existence. Do you know what that means? That means that when the crap hits the fan and our economy melts down some dude is going to run off in the middle of the night with the gold that you "own" on paper. A warrant will be issued for his arrest but he will be long gone and he'll have the gold to stay gone. You think the authorities will be ever-vigilant, looking for the thief who stole your gold? Hell no, they don't get paid enough and in an economic depression they'll having other things to worry about. They'll probably take a bribe to forget all about it. It will be suckers like you who get fleeced. Like diamonds, people tend to not ask where you got the gold. A safer investment (if you want to give it a try) would probably be oil or grains. The essentials that people need the most in hard times. They can do without gold, but the public absolutely needs the grain they eat and the gas that gets it to their cities. In a hyper-inflationary scenario (which is what I see coming, the eventual worthlessness of the American Dollar) your investment will not lose its purchasing power. Its value in dollars will grow substantially, but the amount of goods you will be able to buy with that money you just made will remain about the same. That's the best you can hope for. Don't expect to make money with what is coming. It will take the system down. Trust me, I've been expecting this for a good while now and it's just beginning to unfold.
gold bullion buy it, stick it in your pocket, use it for a paper weight bury it in the backyard in mason jars. Whatever you like because you have it physically in you're posession Smurf. http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=gold+bullion+&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2
http://goldprice.org/buying-gold/2006_01_01_archive.html You can you buy gold bullion? is the short answer to the question often asked by new collectors. But there are some factors to consider when buying gold bullion. Firstly gold bullion is basically gold coins and gold bars. Gold coins are usually 1 troy ounce of fine gold but there can be smaller and sometimes larger coins. Examples of such coins are America Gold Eagles, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, South African Krugerrands and Australian Gold Kookaburras. There are many others but someone new to collecting would be advised to stick to those to start with until they have some more experience under their belt. All are obtainable from reputable dealers and mints (except for the US mint who do not deal with the public. US Gold coins should be obtained from an authorized dealer). Bars, or biscuits or wafers, as they are sometimes called, are another option. These can range from the 1 gram wafer up to full bars of 400 troy ounces. Most collectors go for the 1 ounce and up to 10 ounce bars. When you buy gold coins always check the weight. Usually this is measured in troy ounces or part of an ounce but grams have also become a popular weight measurement recently as well. The fineness should be a 999% fine and this is the amount of gold compared to other metals, such as silver which may be added to give it strength. Gold bars are usually measured as 999 parts per 1000 and most gold coins are usually 917 parts per 1000. Other metal is added as an alloy to strengthen them. Gold is a soft metal and adding an alloy such as silver or copper also makes them easier to mint. How much you would be expected to pay for the gold coin or gold bar advertised depends on the above factors as well as sometimes the rarity and aesthetic appeal of the item, particularly if it is a gold coin. The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, for example, is considered by some to be particularly beautiful. Also it would include any margin added by the seller and any tax that might be applicable. For this reason it is better to purchase 1 ounce coins rather than 1/10th ounce coins and 1 ounce bars rather than 1 gram bars. But whether you are collecting as an investment for the future, or just as a hobby because you like the idea of owning gold or simply appreciate the aesthetic appeal of it, I am sure that buying gold bullion will give you many happy hours of enjoyment in the future! On the other hand: Gold ETF is a recent enterprise of 5-6 major countries who have devised a system of what is called 'gold exchange traded funds'. Instead of actually trading or buying and selling real solid gold, these funds, administered by brokers, are basically an investment in certificates backed by gold. Based on the price of 1/10th (usually) of an ounce, ETF (Exchange Traded Funds) or 'Gold-linked shares' are traded on popular bourses such as NYSE for example. Though a relatively new product, total trading in NYSE has been said to be close to $3.3bn in assets in 2005. NYSE remains the largest exchange to attract investors in gold ETF segment. Apart from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the US, gold ETF is also traded in bourses located in Australia, UK, South Africa, France and India. Vladimir Nedeljkovic, Manager of the NewGold Gold Bullion Debentures, a gold exchange-traded fund in South Africa, stated recently, "... basically what we try to achieve is to give South African investors an opportunity to invest in physical gold – and that was something that, apart from investing in Krugerrands, they didn’t have an opportunity to do previously." So gold ETFs or gold exchange traded funds, are similar to trades of other commodities and resources except that the 'shares' or certificates are backed by real gold, usually in the form of stored '400 oz' London Good Delivery Bars. Gold shares are apparently intended to offer investors a means of participating in the gold bullion market without the necessity of taking physical delivery of gold, and to buy and sell that interest through the trading of a security on a regulated stock exchange. This introduction of Gold shares is supposed to lower many of the barriers, such as access, custody, and transaction costs, that have prevented some investors from investing in gold. However, this is disputed by the fact that gold is still relatively easy to acquire and keep whereas the price fluctuations with 'investment' style gold backed products can cause uneasiness, especially with a fickle public, the value of actually owning physical gold is still one of the most stable in the market. In addition, with gold ETF you have the added costs of brokers fees for both buying and selling and, as it can be considered an investment, you may even have some unwanted tax considerations to take into account also which you may not have with the ownership of real gold. So, despite the hype and push to sell gold ETF by excited brokers, I will still be keeping my value in real gold that you can hold in your hand!
